Sprinter Duronal Monal will slide his mother's gold ring on his finger before he steps into the starting blocks today.

He'll breathe in, expanding his chest that is covered with a angel tattoo, its wings spreading side to side in tribute to her.

As he crosses the finish line at the USA Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium, his thoughts will turn to his mother, who died May 12 of a head injury triggered by the Haitian earthquake four months earlier.

She was his biggest track fan, calling him "God's Gift" - a phrase inked on his chest. Jyloette Meide has passed away, but Monal said he never runs alone.

"All the time, all the time," Monal said Wednesday as he stretched out at UrbandaleHigh School. "I feel like her presence is here."

Monal, who is from Belle Glade, Fla., recently competed as a senior for EastTennesseeState. He'll run in the 100 and 200 meters at this week's meet. His first race is a 100 first-round event today.

He's still dealing with the loss of his mother, though.

Meide, a business owner who frequently traveled from Florida to Haiti, was in Haiti during the Jan. 12 earthquake.